UN Increases Food Aid in West Africa

The United Nations' World Food Program says it is expanding operations
in West Africa to counter the effects of soaring food prices.

The
WFP said in a statement Tuesday that it will provide assistance to an
additional 1.4 million people in the region this year.

It
says operations in Guinea, Mauritania, and Sierra Leone began over the
past three months. New assistance programs in Liberia, Burkina Faso,
and Senegal will begin by September.

The WFP says it is
responding to increased fuel prices and poor harvests caused by
droughts and floods. The agency is appealing for additional donations
to help fund its efforts.

The U.N. agency initially planned to assist about 3.6 million people in West Africa this year.

The
biggest of the new operations is in Guinea, where the WFP says it began
distributions this month to an additional 600,000 people. The
agency says Guinea is now in the lean season and that many people are
surviving on cassava and mangoes.